Pioneer Troop (Bundeswehr)

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Beret badge of the pioneers in the Bundeswehr
Tactical sign of the pioneer troop of the Bundeswehr (tank pioneer)

The engineering corps is a branch of service in the army and in the Joint Support of the Armed Forces . The German pioneers are among the combat support troops . Training and technical equipment enable you to promote the mobility and stamina of your own troops as well as to inhibit the mobility of opposing troops.

assignment

Rapid swimming bridges also enable deep water to be crossed
Pioneers of Panzer Pioneer Battalion 1 building field positions
Pioneers in building camps

The main task of the pioneer troop is to support the mobility of their own troops and to disrupt the movement of the enemy by technical means. For this purpose, pioneers in the Bundeswehr are specifically assigned the following tasks:

The pioneer troop promotes the movements of their own troops in overcoming mine barriers , terrain and other obstacles. It is qualified to build military bridges over water or terrain cuts. Further tasks are clearing rubble and barricades as well as the removal of war or disaster-related destruction on roads, paths and other traffic facilities.

Due to their equipment, pioneers are able to support the combat troops directly with explosives (in the Cold War also with flamethrowers ) and, in an emergency, solve combat tasks themselves. The movements of the military opponent are inhibited and channeled by pioneers. For this purpose, pioneers are able to use military construction machinery , anti-tank mines and explosives to make important sections of the terrain, roads and bridges impassable for a limited time. For this purpose, pioneers can also strengthen terrain obstacles, create mine and tree barriers and special tank obstacles, as well as trigger water congestion.

Pioneers are trained to spot mines, booby traps and ammunition on land and in inland waters. The pioneer troops have appropriately trained service dogs to track down these weapons . Specially trained soldiers of the pioneer troops are able to clear them with the help of special equipment.

Pioneers create important operational requirements for leadership, logistical and medical care and the accommodation of their own troops. To this end, the technically and technically trained soldiers of the pioneer troop support with their special equipment in the expansion and construction of barracks , field camps , depots and transport infrastructure . They secure parking and storage areas, bridges or runways of airfields . The special pioneers include the pipeline pioneers, who ensure that the troops are supplied with fuel by building, operating and maintaining the appropriate pipeline systems. For this purpose, they operate field tank farms in action.

Pioneers improve the protection of their own troops and thereby increase their survivability. In built-up areas, they strengthen and fortify military installations by building earth or sandbag walls, and especially in defense in local and urban warfare, by reinforcing them against shelling. In undeveloped areas, pioneers erect field fortifications and coverings to protect soldiers and military vehicles.

On request, pioneers support the civil authorities with their special skills and special equipment in the context of relief and disaster operations. Above all in the numerous flood operations on the Oder , Elbe , Rhine and Danube , pioneers have proven their capabilities. Semi-civil tasks are taken on by pioneers in the construction of civil infrastructure in countries of operations that have been destroyed by the war.

Skill expansion

In the course of the restructuring of the Bundeswehr in 2011, it was subordinated to the Army Pioneer School as early as July 1, 2012 as part of the transfer of the area of ​​responsibility for ordnance defense back to the Army. The ordnance disposal companies that had operated independently until then were integrated into the pioneer and tank pioneer companies, so that the ability task of the pioneer troops was corrected in the mid-2000s, so that the removal and destruction of UXOs, IEDs and ordnance was again the responsibility of both pioneer units of the army.

As a result of the annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO decided on May 4th / 5th. September 2014 in Newport , Wales , to place the alliance policy more on the alliance defense.

The resolved Bundeswehr reform of 2011 and the "ability task" to create large mine barriers were almost reversed. Systems that were already intended for retirement were reactivated and partially modernized. This also included the M85 mine laying system, a trailer-drawn laying system. This means that the pioneer troops are again able to set up large mine barriers.

history

planning phase

Five years after the end of the Second World War, it was evident that the Allied troops standing at the Iron Curtain were insufficient to counter the threat from the east. In 1951 the Western Allies asked the Federal Republic of Germany to make a defense contribution.

Colonel i. He was appointed to the Ermekeil barracks in Bonn by the "Dienststelle Blank" in February 1952. G. a. D. Koller Kraus initially received the contract as an expert in the field of "military infrastructure", from April supported by Colonel a. D. Fricke to determine the need for pioneering forces for territorial defense, as well as the availability of military infrastructure facilities in the FRG, most of which were also used for purposes other than those for which they were intended as "displaced persons" or emigrant camps.

From 1952 the focus of the planning is the idea - analogous to the way usual in the western allied armed forces - the question of pioneer units of all kinds, their supply with equipment, machines, explosives and mines.

The Waffenring Deutscher Pioniere resumed its activities in 1954/1955, pioneers of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and Organization Todt gather in the "Special Labor Service" units to provide technical pioneering support to the Western occupying powers. This gave a fairly comprehensive picture of the existing pioneering cadre in the FRG early on. Parts of this staff later formed the basis of the pioneer associations of the Bundeswehr in 1956.

At the beginning of December 1955, the first six engineer officers were sworn in and instructed in the Ermekeil barracks in Bonn. They are intended to receive their training in leadership and operational principles of US engineers as well as weapons and equipment at the Fort Belvoir Engineer School in the USA (Virginia). The briefing lasted 12–15 weeks.

Rearmament

In April and May 1956, the advance personnel for the Pioneer Training Battalion (later Pioneer Training Regiment) arrived at the Munich radio barracks, which formed the cadre of an association that grew to 14 companies by mid-1958. In cooperation with the First Pioneer Training Group of the Bundeswehr (later Pioneer School) (stationed in the Lohengrin barracks in Munich-Oberföhring), training began in July 1956. The aim of the teaching group and the Pioneer Teaching Battalion was to provide service and unserved soldiers with quick mediation and instruction in tactics, pioneer equipment and material, so that the pioneer associations to be set up could grow up quickly.

The original equipment of the pioneer associations was exclusively from US and British production they included u. a.

List of the First Pioneer Associations 1956

designation Lineup Location later name Initial submission comment
SchwBrBtl 260 (B) .png SchBrKp 734 May 1956 Brannenburg 2./SchwBrBtl 260 PiBtl 4
PzPiKp 60 (B) .png sSchBrKP 735 Aug 1956 Dillingen on the Danube PzPiKp 60 ?
Coats of arms of None.svg sSchBrKP 731 June 1956 ? PiBtl 3 PiBtl 1 later incorporated into PiBtl 1
Coats of arms of None.svg sPiSpezKp ​​(TV) 795 Sep 1956 Baumholder ? ?
LLPIKP 9 1956 Munich ParachutePiKp 250 LLPIBtl 9
Coats of arms of None.svg LePiBtl 511 1956 Hanover LePiBtl 18 ?
PiBtl 320 (B) .png PiBtl Koblenz (sPiBtl 717) 1956 Koblenz PiBtl 320 Territorial Defense Command
PzPiKp 70 (B) .png 3./PiBtl 1 July 1956 Hamburg PzPiKp70 3.PzDiv emerged from units of the BGS
PiBtl 3 (B) .png PiBtl 1 July 1956 Harburg PiBtl 3 1 PzGrenDiv Device taken over by BGS
Internal association badge PiBtl 2 Aug 1956 Holzminden PiBtl 1 2.PzGrenDiv
PiBtl 4 (B) .png PiBtl 4 July 1956 Rosenheim GebPiBtl 8 / PiBtl 10 1.GebDiv emerged from the border protection construction department (construction)

PiBtl 4 was split into GebPiBtl 8, PiBtl 10 and PzKp110

PiBtl 2 (B) .png PzPiBtl 5 Aug 1956 Dillingen on the Danube PiBtl 2 5.PzDiv
PiBtl 6 (B) .png PzPiBtl 3 July 1956 Schleswig PiBtl 6 6.PzGrenDiv
Coats of arms of None.svg Engineer Training Battalion April 1956 Munich PiLehrRgt ? Supported by US engineers (MAAG team)
PiBtl 10..png PiBtl 10 1956 Ingolstadt 10.PzGrenDiv
PiBtl 61..png PiBtl 61 1956 Lübeck ?

Development of the pioneer group in the 1960s

In the first few years after the rearmament, the pioneer associations continued to expand their personnel. However, the focus of the Federal Minister of Defense was more on the procurement of inexpensive nuclear weapons ("pre-emptive strike"), tanks ( Leopard 1 , HS30 ) and more modern fighter aircraft ( F104 ) so that the pioneer associations and their equipment only played a subordinate role. A rethinking began in the Federal Ministry of Defense only after the NATO simulation game Fallex 62 showed a catastrophic operational readiness for the Bundeswehr and the magazine "Der Spiegel" reported on it.

The following deficiencies became apparent during the Fallex 62 exercise :

  • Pioneer associations were unable to repair infrastructure damage
  • Lack of bending devices, ferries, etc.
  • Lack of ready-to-use pioneer equipment for position building
  • Shortage of personnel in the units (approx. 75% of the target value had been reached), reservists could not be called up.
  • Lack of serious pioneer associations
  • Existing material was out of date and not fully operational.

After the resignation of Franz Josef Strauss and the changed NATO strategy, massive retaliation for flexible response , a. the pioneer associations of the Bundeswehr massively expanded. The defense budget temporarily rose from 3.4% GDP to over 5.3%.

The following were also created in the 1960s:

  • 9 independent tank engineer companies
  • 3 independent river pioneer companies
  • 10 heavy engineer battalions
    • 3 active
    • 7 not active
  • 3 engineer regiments not active

This expansion continued in the 1970s and peaked in the 1980s.

Origin of the river pioneers

The Federal Republic of Germany was obliged by NATO treaties to maintain the freedom of operation of all NATO troops deployed on its territory. First and foremost, it had to be ensured that the traffic routes required to carry out the operations in the rear combat zone and the connection zone were always operational. The transition over wide, strong currents was a particular challenge here.

Through Fallex 62 it became clear that an effective defense of Central Europe is only possible if fast and sufficient reserves are possible via sea and land connections. For this reason, the territorial freedom of movement of NATO forces, including the Bundeswehr, was further promoted. NATO simulation games assumed that an attack by the Warsaw Pact in the first few hours could a. Air strikes against infrastructure targets, especially bridges and traffic junctions, will make an effective defense significantly more difficult. Therefore, the expansion of the bridge and river pioneers was further increased, especially for the river pioneers, it was possible for air attacks to form focal points along the entire length of the Rhine as quickly as possible by relocating them in good time and to carry out translation operations without preparation time.

The river pioneers of the German Armed Forces had their origins in the Rhine River Patrol of the US armed forces. When the Bundeswehr was set up, the device, including some of the properties, was handed over to the Bundeswehr by the Rhine River Patrol, which was in the process of being dissolved. The German staff of the ferry company was taken over as far as possible in the Bundeswehr. Initial structural, personnel and material problems, however, ensured that the operational readiness of the river pioneers was not at least resolved in terms of personnel until the early 1960s.

According to the “Strength and Equipment Certificate” (StAN), the order, structure and personnel of the Bundeswehr river pioneer companies were identical, but had a different fleet of boats.

In order to compensate for the lack of translation capacity in the form of a boat, the river pioneer companies in Koblenz and Achim have meanwhile been given the hollow-plate bridge device. Large motor boats served as the propulsion means for the "hollow slab". For the transport of floating bridge equipment and motor boats “seven ton trucks” with trailers were provided. The scope of the assigned “replacement device” was considerable at times. It was up to 300 pontoons and 30 motor boats with a large number of transport vehicles. This transitional arrangement lasted until the mid-1960s.

The "old device" taken over by the Allies was gradually replaced by new buildings from the Bundeswehr. The “Y-safety boats” and the “Oberwinter landing craft” were decommissioned in April 1966, the old “Mannheim boats” of the 1951 to 1952 types were retired by the mid-1970s. The security boats "Classe 33" were also removed from the troops, with the exception of two specimens, which the two pioneer regiments of the territorial area south and north were granted for special use.

Initial designation Last name Lineup Location Initial submission Last insinuation Whereabouts
FluPiKp731 FluPiKp800 April 1962 Uesen sPiRgt 705 PiKdo800 Disbanded in 1989
FluPiKp732 FluPiKp801 1959 Neuwied sPiRgt 705 PiKdo800 Disbanded in 1989
FluPiKp (TV) 790 FluPiKp850 1957 Koblenz sPiRgt 717 PiKdo850 Disbanded in 1989
Pioneer-Flu-Kp (TV) 791 FluPiKp851 1958 Wiesbaden sPiRgt 717 PiKdo850 Disbanded in 1989
RiverPiKp736 ? 1960 Karlsruhe sPiRgt 706 ? AmphPiBtl330 (Speyer)
RiverPiKp 733 ? 1962 Krefeld sPiRgt 706 ? Disbanded in 1969
RiverPiKp 735 ? 1960 Wiesbaden sPiRgt 717 ? Disbanded in 1969

With the establishment of the river pioneer companies in the Bundeswehr (from July 3, 1957), the pioneer troops were provided with special units which, in terms of their task and equipment, represented a valuable addition to the bridge-building pioneers.

Due to the far-reaching structural changes in the Bundeswehr over the decades, the number of river pioneer companies was initially reduced and completely dissolved in 1989.

  • Tactical sign river pioneers

  • Landing craft

  • Landing craft type Bodan

  • River ferry Mannheim 59 on the Rhine with 3 M113

  • Supplementary material from the river pioneers (early years)

Development of the pioneer troop in the 1970s

With the dissolution of the Territorial Defense Command in 1969 and the reorganization of the Territorial Army, which was no longer a separate sub-area of ​​the Bundeswehr, but instead, alongside the field army integrated into the NATO command structure, the sub-area of ​​the army , which should continue to be managed nationally in the event of a defense . Almost all inactive pioneer units have since been in the territorial army , where the task of the pioneer units was to ensure freedom of movement in the rear area at any time of day or night and under all weather conditions. These included u. a. the construction / new construction of bridges over important river crossings, the preparation of positions, blocking of terrain obstacles with wire, tank barriers or mine barriers, mending road connections, ensuring water treatment and preparing for bridge blasting.

In the 1970s, the original equipment of the active pioneer units of the field army was replaced by modern equipment; so was u. a. procured the following device:

Newly established associations

(without reclassification)

number
Pioneer special blocking company 4th
Pioneer drill 3
Airborne Engineer Company 1
Floating Bridge Battalion 4 nA
Tank engineer companies 4th
Engineer Command (Brigade) 2
Engineer Regiment 3 nA
AmphPiBtl 3
AmphPikp 1

Origin of the Amphibious Pioneers

At the beginning of the 1970s, the amphibious units were grouped into battalions and concentrated in the corps' pioneer commandos. They were the 5th Company of the Division Engineer Battalions and the independent amphibious companies. In Schleswig-Holstein 5./PiBtl 6 was spun off, renamed AmphPiKp 601 and subordinated to PiBtl 6. The battalions and company were equipped with amphibious bridges M2 "Alligator" and translation vehicles, assault boats, heavy motor boats, wheel planers and folding road devices. The individual battalions thus had a capacity of 183 meters floating bridge with the military load class (MLC) 60 (54.4 t load capacity), which was sufficient to accommodate the M48 bridge-laying tank , which was the heaviest vehicle in the Bundeswehr at the time. With the amphibious M2 "Alligator" bridge, the amphibious pioneers were able to support defense and attack operations quickly and flexibly throughout the entire Federal Republic of Germany. A river ferry service or optionally a bridge service could be started without preparation time.

With the capture of Army Structure IV, another, 5th Company, was set up as a device unit (the 5./AmphPiBtl 230 was active) and the AmphPiKp 601 was renamed AmphPiKp 600. The story of the amphibious engineer battalions ended after 22 years. In 1993 all amphibious engineer battalions were reclassified and renamed into engineer bridge battalions, the AmphPiKp 600 was dissolved.

Initial designation Last name Lineup Location Initial submission Last insinuation Whereabouts
AmphPiBtl 130 (B) .png AmphPiBtl 130 PzPiBtl 130 1972 Minden 5./PiBtl1, 5./PiBtl3, 5./PiBtl7, 5./PiBtl11, PiKdo1 reclassified to PzPiBtl 130 active, reduced to 30 amphibious M3 bridges in 2 companies
AmphPiBtl 230 (B) .png AmphPiBtl 230 sPiLehrBtl 230 1970 Ingolstadt 5./PiBtl 10, 5./PiBtl 4, and the AmphPi (L) Kp 201 PiKdo2 Disbanded in 2002
AmphPiBtl 330 (B) .png AmphPiBtl 330 SpPiBtl 464 1970 Speyer 5./PiBtl 2, 5./PiBtl 5, FlußpiKp 736 and the AmphPiKp 301 PiKdo3 De facto dissolved in 2003 as Heavy Pioneer Battalion 330, officially in 2015 as SpPiBtl 464
AmphPiKp 600 (B) .png sSchBrKp733 AmphPiKp 600 1971 Plön 5./PiBtl 6 PiBtl6 Disbanded in 1993

  • Amphibious bridge and transfer vehicle M2 "Alligator"

  • Single ferry

  • Bridge arrangement. Right vehicle with access ramp

  • Tactical sign amphibious pioneers

Development of the pioneer group in the 1980s

In the 1980s, the further development and expansion of the pioneer associations continued. With the taking of Army Structure IV, the pioneer associations of the field and territorial armies reached their greatest growth.

The blocking ability and the laying time of mine barriers was increased enormously in the 1980s with the introduction of the systems

  • Mine thrower Skorpion M 548 G A1 (Litter Mine AT2 600 mines per vehicle) 300 copies
  • Mine laying system M85 (anti-tank laying mine DM31 420 mines per vehicle) 282 copies
  • S-wire installation trailer
  • Anti-tank mine DM12
Structure of the field army

It was possible to create mine barriers of 1500 m length in 15 minutes (Scorpion) or in the 2nd hour open / 4th hour concealed laying with the mine laying system M85

The following large equipment was added to the pioneer associations:

Association type Field army active / tA Field Army nA Territorial army active / tA Territorial Army nA total
Armored Engineer Battalion 0 0 0 0 0
Tank engineer companies 33 0 0 0 33
Engineer Regiment 0 0 0 8th 8th
Engineer Battalion 16 3 0 18th 37
Pioneer companies 1 0 0 11 12
Mountain Spy Battalion 1 0 0 0 1
Mountain Spy Company 1 0 0 0 1
Floating Bridge Battalion 0 5 2 9 16
Swimming bridge companies 0 0 0 2 2
AmphPiBtl 3 0 0 0 3
AmphPikp 0 0 1 0 1
River pioneer companies 0 0 2 2 4th
Pipeline Engineer Regiment 0 0 2 0 2
Pipeline Engineer Battalion 0 0 3 5 8th
Pipeline pioneer companies 0 0 2 0 2
Airborne Engineer Company 3 0 0 0 3
Engineer Brigades 3 0 2 0 5
Coats of arms of None.svg Pioneer special blocking company 0 0 4th 0 4th
Pioneer drill 0 0 3 0 3

Operability of all pioneer associations

In the 1980s, the defense budget was increased again through the NATO double decision and the stationing of SS-20 missiles in the GDR, so the real increase from 1970 to 1980 was around 21%.

The pioneer associations of the field and territorial army were modernized in the first third of the 1980s and materially fully established. A shortage of longer-serving NCOs and officers could not be eliminated in the pioneer associations in the 1980s either.

Nevertheless, the Bundeswehr and its pioneer associations were given the top grade "fully suitable for attack" in the NATO exercise "FTX / CPX - Certain Strike". This was also reflected in the CIA's military assessment of the Bundeswehr by literally saying:

" The Bundeswehr-the West German Federal Armed Forces- is the most effective European national contigent in NATO. Bundeswehr components are defensively oriented and conceptually a part of the NATO military command structure. Despite continuing implementation of equiqment modernization programs during the next five years, military leaders will be hard pressed to maintain current levels of readiness. In terms of both size and capability, the West German Army is a bulwark of NATO's defense .... "

"The Bundeswehr - the West German Bundeswehr - is the most effective European national force in NATO. The components of the Bundeswehr are defensively oriented and conceptually part of the military command structure of NATO. Despite the continued implementation of modernization programs for equipment over the next five years, it will be the military leaders It is difficult to maintain the current readiness. In terms of size and efficiency, the Bundeswehr is a bulwark of NATO defense .... "

The assessment of the situation by the NVA in the 1980s determined that an attack on West Germany and the necessary breakthrough in the direction of Hamburg would only be possible if the NATO units surprised and massively with nuclear weapons attacks, especially against the 6th Panzer Grenadier Division (general I. Corps) can be reached.

Furthermore, it was predicted that if the NATO units, including the Bundeswehr, have a 48-hour warning time, the Bundeswehr triples its troop strength through mobilization (1.2 million) and prepared barriers (funnel barriers, tree barriers, drop body barriers, prepared bridges and plug-in body barriers) along the front edge of the defense (VRV) and the entire federal territory will trigger, so that a quick advance to the Rhine is no longer possible or only with high losses.

A special feature were the pipeline pioneers, which had not previously existed in Germany. Its main task was the establishment and operation of the NATO pipeline , which in the Cold War represented the backbone of the fuel supply for the NATO units operating in Western Europe . The first major effort for the pioneers was the flood disaster in Hamburg in 1962 . Their assault boats and inflatables were particularly helpful. Relief and disaster operations should remain an important part of the pioneers' range of tasks. Parts of the pioneer troops were deployed after earthquakes, for example in Friuli in 1976 and in southern Italy in 1980, in 1975 in the forest fire disaster in the Lüneburg Heath and in 1979 in the snow disaster in Schleswig-Holstein . After the end of the Cold War, the territorial tasks of the pioneers (see Wallmeistertrupps ) were largely given up and the support of the German armored troops , for example the construction of barriers, the construction of rapid bridges and field positions , took a back seat. In foreign missions today, pioneers mainly contribute to the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by the war, to clearing former war zones, and to the construction and operation of field camps in the country of deployment.

See also:

education

The central training facility is the Pioneers training center in Ingolstadt . The Army Development Office has been responsible for the further development of the military branch since June 2013 . The military school is the central training facility for pioneers in the army and the armed forces base. The head of the school is also the general of the engineer force . He is responsible for the training of the pioneer troops in a special way. Special pioneer forces of the armed forces base are additionally trained at the logistics school of the Bundeswehr in Garlstedt / Oldenburg i. H. trained, further educated and kept in practice in their specialist areas. In mid-2012, the Army's pioneer troops took on all of the tasks involved in disposing of ordnance. For this purpose the center for ordnance disposal of the Bundeswehr in Stetten on the cold market , which was previously subordinate to the armed forces base, was subordinated to the former pioneer school and technical school of the army for construction technology .

organization

Structure of an independent tank pioneer company in the army structure "New Army"

classification

The German pioneers in the army and in the armed forces base of the Bundeswehr form their own branch of service . In the army, they are among the combat support troops . The air force and the navy do not divide their armed forces into branches. Accordingly, there is no pioneer group in the narrower sense. However, pioneers are also set up at the Air Force to repair the runway. These belong to the object protection service area (6th squadron object protection regiment of the Air Force ). The navy also had its own pioneer forces on a smaller scale. The task, for example, was to create a structural condition for landing operations. They were part of the Navy's amphibious group .

According to the different abilities of the pioneer troops to provide combat support to the various combat troops, the pioneer forces of the Bundeswehr are divided into mechanized tank pioneers , airborne pioneers , mountain pioneers and bridge pioneers as well as special pioneers . The names for units of troops, which are primarily composed of the above-mentioned types of pioneers, are based on these names: tank pioneer company, airborne pioneer company, river pioneer battalion, bridge battalion, special pioneer battalion, etc. Battalions with particularly heavy equipment, such as floating bridges, are called heavy pioneers .

Airborne pioneers are lightly equipped units that can be brought to the scene of action with their equipment by aircraft. With their equipment, mountain pioneers are able to support the mountain troops in building positions in the high mountains and by building barriers in the mountains.

There are also special pioneers with special logistical assignments such as the construction and operation of field camps, as well as pipeline pioneers in order to set up and operate the NATO pipeline system in Germany and field tank farms for the fuel supply of troops deployed abroad in times of crisis and war .

When blocking pioneers are called pioneers, mainly with the construction of barriers , particularly mine-laying are commissioned.

Furthermore, there were further specializations during the Cold War , which today are often no longer explicitly part of the Bundeswehr's range of capabilities. Railway pioneers were able to restore and operate railway facilities. River pioneers made it possible for troops to cross larger bodies of water using ferries . In the territorial army, Wallmeister existed in troop strength to trigger prepared bridges and to activate other barriers in the event of a defense.

In the Air Force , every flying formation had a runway repair squadron for air traffic area repairs. At the same time, Air Force pioneers were held ready for the maintenance of air traffic areas for military airfields used by NATO nations (Wartime Host Nation Support).

All Bundeswehr combat troops are, to a limited extent, qualified to set up smaller barriers and carry out smaller blasts, as well as to build simple field positions using bulwarks and earthworks equipment (EAG trucks with excavator buckets - which, however, can only be used to a limited extent in wooded terrain) .

Assault pioneers with primarily infantry tasks were no longer deployed in the Bundeswehr. Their tasks were taken over from the beginning by an extended training of the infantry by an explosive training and appropriate equipment with explosives.

Troops

Active units in the army

The engineer troop comprises the following troop units in the army:

designation place Association comment
Battalions
Internal association badge Armored Engineer Battalion 1 Holzminden Armored Brigade 21
Internal association badge Armored Engineer Battalion 4 arc Armored Brigade 12
Internal association badge Mountain Spy Battalion 8 Ingolstadt Mountain Infantry Brigade 23
Internal association badge 130th Panzer Engineer Battalion Minden Tank Training Brigade 9 close cooperation with the 23 Amphibious Squadron & 412 Troop (Volunteers) Royal Engineers of the British Army at the same location, and with the same equipment and tasks
Internal association badge Panzer Engineer Battalion 701 Gera Panzer Grenadier Brigade 37
Internal association badge Panzer Engineer Battalion 803 Havelberg Panzer Grenadier Brigade 41
Independent companies
Internal association badge Airborne Engineer Company 260 Saarlouis Airborne Brigade 1
Internal association badge Airborne Engineer Company 270 Seedorf Airborne Brigade 1
Internal association badge Armored Engineer Company 550 Stetten am kalten Markt Franco-German Brigade

Inactive units in the army

Supplementary units are inactive battalions, which consist mainly of reservists . The battalions have z. Z. do not have their own large equipment, but are dependent on large equipment from their Couleur troop units . In the future, the engineer battalions will gradually be equipped with equipment. There is a non-active and a partially active engineer battalion:

designation place Large association Remarks
Internal association badge Heavy Engineer Battalion 901 Havelberg 1st Armored Division Part active (3 companies active in Havelberg, Minden and Bogen)
Internal association badge Engineer Battalion 905 1 Ingolstadt 10th Armored Division inactive color: Mountain Spy Battalion 8 (vehicles coming in)

1 occasionally referred to as Bergspionierbataillon 905

As part of civil-military cooperation , ZMZ bases were / are being set up at all six locations of the engineer battalions. Special pioneering equipment is kept there.

Troop units in the armed forces base

The two special pioneer battalions (SpezPiBtl) 164 and 464 did not belong to the general army pioneers, but were units in the logistics command of the Bundeswehr and thus belonged to the armed forces base . They were the only two battalions of the Bundeswehr that were able to set up and operate field camps. The water supply was also part of their range of tasks.

The Special Engineer Battalion 464 has since been disbanded. In return, the 164 Special Pioneer Battalion has grown by six additional field camp construction and field camp operations trains and has been renamed the 164 Special Pioneer Regiment.

The regiment also includes a pipeline pioneer company that operates a field tank farm z. B. in Mazar-e Sharif can build and operate. To do this, at least half a pull strength of the three pulls is required.

When the Bundeswehr is deployed abroad , the field camps each have two pioneer companies. Including the field camp operating company, which takes over the water supply and infrastructure operation in the field camp and is set up together with the NBC defense force and the emergency company.

The following are subordinate to the logistics command of the Bundeswehr :

designation place Remarks
Internal association badge Special Pioneer Regiment 164 Husum

ZMZ bases were set up as part of civil-military cooperation . The following units of the armed forces have special engineering equipment for the ZMZ bases in Husum and Speyer:

  • Husum , at the 164 Special Pioneer Regiment

Units decommissioned

equipment

Large device

Mine laying system 85 and anti-tank laying mine DM31

Mine laying machine M85 with MAN 15to Multi as a tractor (ILÜ)
Anti-tank laying mine DM31

The mine laying system 85 is a single-axle, unbraked trailer with plow, leveler, electrical and hydraulic system for open or concealed laying of the anti-tank mine DM31. It was procured by the German Armed Forces in 1985 with a total of 282 systems. A MAN truck 7to mil gl or MAN MULTI 15 to with a removable loading platform is used as the towing vehicle, which also carries the mines in transport boxes on the loading area. From there the mines are transported onto the mine laying trailer via a loading chute. The laying is done either on the surface or to a depth of 20 cm. This makes it possible to block areas of 1500 m in length in 2 hours (open) or 1500 m in 4 hours (laid concealed). After being phased out in 2011, there are currently 23 systems in use again.

The DM31 mine is a model from the Swedish company FFV with the original designation FFV 028 SN, of which the Bundeswehr received a total of 125,000 from 1988. Laying can be done by hand or with the mine laying system 85.

Systems in service

Only a few branches of service in the army have as diverse large equipment as the pioneer troops. For their varied tasks they are equipped with various vehicles such as engineer tanks , bridge laying tanks and mine clearance tanks. The equipment of the bridge pioneers includes pontoon bridges to cross bodies of water. They also have a wide range of entrenchment equipment .

The current equipment of the troops currently include the Pionierpanzer 2 roof , the tank fly bridge beaver or tanks on the fly bridge Iguana , the mine laying system M85 and the Mine Clearing boar . The folding road loaded onto a truck allows driving on sandy or boggy terrain. The folding bridge is used for bodies of water and obstacles that cannot be overcome with the rapid armored bridge . However, a set-up time of one hour prevents the deployment in the event of an advance by the fighting troops.

Larger and wider water depths are overcome with the amphibian M3 , which can be used as a rapid swimming bridge or ferry. Furthermore, pioneers can connect 3 pontoons with their motorboat to a folding swimming bridge. The bridge elements are loaded on a special bridge transporter , all-terrain trucks for 7-10  t payload.

The cranes of the pioneer group include the Liebherr mobile cranes FKL and FKM. In addition, the pioneer team has commercially available construction equipment such as bulldozers and excavators for the construction of infrastructure.

The scout car (easy 4 wheel) Fennek is used by the pioneer troops for exploration. The armored personnel carrier Fuchs and the armored personnel carrier GTK Boker serve in the variant group vehicle pioneers as personnel carriers .

Airborne pioneers are equipped with a different, lighter device for use in the air. These include u. a. light inflatable boats, ESK Mungo as a transport vehicle, weapon carrier Wiesel 2 as a pioneer reconnaissance vehicle and field work equipment (FAG) from Ahlmann, type AS 6M, which are significantly lighter than the field work equipment type AS 12 B used by the pioneer group.

  • Bridge and ferry construction with amphibian M3

  • Construction of a rapid armored bridge

  • Element of a folding swimming bridge loaded onto a bridge transporter

  • Loaded motor boat 3

  • Mobile crane medium FKM

  • Mobile crane light FKL

  • Field tool of the pioneers

  • Bridge-laying armor iguana

  • Manipulation vehicle tEODor

  • Boxer armored transport vehicle (pioneer group vehicle)

  • Armored transport vehicle Fuchs 1A8 (pioneer group vehicle)

  • Command and functional vehicle Eagle (replacement for DB Wolf)

  • Armored recovery vehicle Buffalo

  • Mowag Duro 3

  • MGB (Medium Girder Bridge)

  • Faltfestbrücke (FFB) with Biber armored bridge

  • Folding swimming bridge device (FSB)

Prototypes and test samples

The armored pioneer machine , among other things, was tested in the 1970s . The Iguana tank bridge has been tested since 2009 with the aim of introducing the vehicle in 2014. The Panzerschnellbrücke 2 project was abandoned after the required laying times for the respective bridge lengths could not be achieved.

Retired systems

The predecessor of the Pionierpanzer 2 Dachs was the Pionierpanzer 1 , which was a variant of the Bergepanzer 2 . The predecessor of the amphibian M3 was the M2B Alligator rapid swimming bridge . The pioneer troops of the German Armed Forces used the American M48 in the variants of bridge laying tanks M48 and M48 clearing tanks . The Mannheim 59 river ferries of the river pioneers, which were the largest boats in the history of the Army, have also been decommissioned. The Pionierpanzer 1 and the Bodan ferry (replacement for the Mannheim ferry at the FlußPiKompanien) are also no longer in use .

uniform

Piping and collar tabs of the uniform of an officer of the engineer force
Two engineer officers in dress suits and small service suits

The weapon color of the engineer troop, shown for example as the color of the braids and collar tabs , is black . The color of the beret is coral red . The beret badge shows a stylized bridge framed by oak leaves.

The Panzerpionierkompanie 550 depicts a special feature here, as the only pioneer association of the army wearing a navy blue beret with the beret badge of the Franco-German flag.

Military symbol

The military symbol of the pioneers shows a stylized bridge throughout NATO . This basic symbol can be supplemented by ability-specific symbols according to the specialization of a pioneer unit. The pioneers of the Luftwaffe, for example, also use a stylized propeller (roughly equivalent to a lying figure eight), tank pioneers like the armored troops use the lying oval (stylized caterpillar ) in their military symbol.

Rank designations

The lowest rank in units of the engineer force is the engineer or the tank engineer . They correspond to the rank of rifleman, radio operator, tank grenadier, etc. ( → see here ) of other branches of service. The rank designation Panzerpionier only carry soldiers in the lowest rank in tank engineer companies or tank engineer battalions; the rank designation pioneer lead accordingly all other lowest ranks in troops of the engineer troop. The other ranks correspond to the general ranks of the Bundeswehr .

Bundeswehr Cross Black.svg Team rank
Lower rank   Higher rank
- Pioneer
tank pioneer 		Private

Rank group : Teams-NCOs-NCO-NCOs-Lieutenant-Captains-Staff officers-Generals

See also

literature

  • Christin-Désirée Rudolph: Anchor throw - The pioneers and special pioneers of the Bundeswehr . Motorbuch Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03155-5 .
  • Peter Blume: tank pioneers in the Bundeswehr . In: Vehicle Profiles . tape 18 . Unitec Medienvertrieb, 2001.
  • Ulrich Keppler (ed.): The pioneers . History and role models of our military branch. Pioneer School and Technical College of the Army for Structural Engineering, Munich 2004 (with a foreword by Werner Kullack ).

Web links

Commons : Pioneer Troop (Bundeswehr)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • The pioneer troop. Federal Ministry of Defense, head of the press and information staff, accessed on February 8, 2012 .
  • www.flusspi.de. Manfred Labes, Joachim Müller, Robert von Oehmichen, Achim Herrmann, accessed on November 15, 2010 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What is the mission of the pioneer troops? Federal Ministry of Defense , the head of the press and information staff, accessed on August 3, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Formations of the Army. The Federal Archives, archived from the original on February 26, 2015 ; Retrieved November 16, 2010 .
  3. ↑ The History of the Pioneer Troop. Bundeswehr, November 25, 13, accessed on November 2, 2019 .
  4. ^ NATO summit 2014: Increased operational readiness. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Army needs mine-laying machines and armored bridges again . ISSN  0174-4909 ( online [accessed November 2, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Back again: Mortar and Mine Layers - eyes straight ahead! Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bachmann, Bernd .: pioneers of the German Federal Armed Forces 1955-1985 Chronic e. Branch of service . Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg 1985, ISBN 3-7909-0259-4 .
  8. ^ Bundeswehr: Conditionally ready for defense . In: Spiegel Online . tape 41 , October 10, 1962 ( online [accessed November 16, 2019]).
  9. ↑ BUNDESWEHR / RESERVE EXERCISE: Juniper extra blue - DER SPIEGEL 51/1968. Retrieved April 22, 2020 .
  10. ↑ HEIMAT DEFENSE: Reserve without rest - DER SPIEGEL 4/1966. Retrieved April 22, 2020 .
  11. ^ A b Dan Krause: Success or failure - what about the trend reversals in the Bundeswehr? Retrieved November 18, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b The river pioneers. Retrieved November 16, 2019 .
  13. ^ A b c d e f g Nübel, Christoph 1982-, Christoph Links Verlag: Documents on German military history 1945-1990: Federal Republic and GDR in the East-West conflict . 1st edition. Berlin, ISBN 978-3-96289-070-4 .
  14. ↑ Pioneer fleet. Retrieved December 3, 2019 .
  15. ↑ a b Karlsruhe. Retrieved November 16, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Pioneer fleet. Retrieved November 20, 2019 .
  17. ↑ a b Bundeswehr: Blocking and blowing up the pioneers . In: Bundeswehr (Ed.): HDv 286/100 .
  18. ↑ www.panzerbaer.de | Wheeled and special vehicles. Retrieved November 16, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Office for Army Development (Ed.): The Army Office . 1st edition. Lothar Fölbach Medienservice, Cologne 2014, p. 204 .
  20. ↑ Folding swimming bridge (Bw). Retrieved November 16, 2019 .
  21. ^ Metropolnews editorial staff: Bundeswehr leaves Speyer at the end of the year. In: Metropolnews.info. June 25, 2015, accessed November 16, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Captain Frankm. Biehl: II. Corps 1956-2005 . Ed .: Command Operative Leadership Intervention Forces PIZ. 1st edition. 2005, p. 112 .
  23. ↑ Michael Grube: Prepared barriers on Germany's roads. Accessed November 17, 2019 (German).
  24. ↑ The History of the Pioneer Troop. Federal Ministry of Defense , the head of the press and information staff, accessed on August 3, 2015 .
  25. ↑ Heavy Pioneer Battalion 901. Accessed December 5, 2019 .
  26. ↑ What equipment and technology does the engineering team use? Federal Ministry of Defense , the head of the press and information staff, accessed on August 3, 2015 .
  27. ↑ a b The equivalent, higher and lower ranks are given in accordance with ZDv 14/5 B 185, cf. The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): ZDv 14/5. Soldiers Act . DSK AV110100174, change status July 17, 2008. Bonn August 21, 1978, rank designations in the Bundeswehr, p. B 185 (Not to be confused with the Law on the Legal Status of Soldiers (Soldiers Act) . The order of the ranks shown in the info box does not necessarily correspond to one of the regular rank sequences provided for in the Soldiers' Career Ordinance , nor does it necessarily correspond to the rank hierarchy described in the Superiors Ordinance a managerial relationship ).